(no subject)
Apr. 24th, 2022 06:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
psipsyGot me a model of a steam locomotive at the train show a couple weeks ago. I've been meaning to get one for some time but they tend to be brutally expensive even by my standards. Well, I found a Rivarossi for a reasonable price, even if the model is over 40 years old. The model is old enough that its date of production is closer to the last time the full-size version was last on rails than to the present day. It appears to have been well-cared for, and still has the original box and manual. The important things are that it works and it's not broken, which is good because I'd probably have to custom-make replacement parts for it.
At the same train show, I also picked up an old Athearn diesel which doesn't appear to be much newer than the Rivarossi. It looked like it was stored for 20 years in a damp crawl space because a lot of the metal pieces were starting to rust, and the metal frame was bent in at least 3 places. However, parts for these are easy to come by and I already had many of those spare parts. And the fix for the bent frame involves a big bench vise and some gentle adjustment. I got it sorted out, though. Sometimes I find good deals, sometimes I just find basketcases.
Nozomi officially reached 300k miles! Then as a way of celebrating, her alternator started showing early signs of failure. The battery light would sometimes flash at idle, then it's fine for a few days, then it comes back, staying on at higher RPMs, until it stays on more often than not. I've seen that happen before in other cars and replacing the alternator is what fixes it. So that's what I did. Replacement involved disconnecting the battery (duh), removal of the serpentine belt, power steering pump, idler/tensioner, radiator overflow tank, which then required removal of part of the radiator support itself. Only then was I finally able to get the part out. If I was still living at the trailer, fixing it myself wouldn't have been an option and having it done would have easily cost closer to a grand, instead of the $100 for a used part off ebay.
On the plus side, I learned what likely causes that particular failure mode and what's involved in fixing it: The brush set mounted on the back of the part. When they're too worn down, they can't maintain contact and thus can't keep making voltage. A new brush set is $35. Too bad the original alternator also needs new bearings, which are a lot harder to replace, and replacing the whole alternator was the way to go here. Oh well.
For several years, I've been doing an extended fuel economy test on my cars. Nozomi is in 3rd place at 28MPG, Ai continues to do her thing in 2nd place at 32MPG, and Miharu is taking the lead with 34MPG. Nozomi's is lower because she's more about performance than economy. Miharu is higher, despite being over 500lbs more than Ai, with a bigger engine, and an automatic. The advances in fuel-management technology are a factor but so is how the gears are set up. Miharu has more gears (8!) and stays in the highest one possible to keep the RPMs as low as possible. An old trick but an effective one.
I've been trying to figure out why my AirPlay network stopped working the way I want it to. I still have workarounds, but I didn't need to use them until recently. Puzzling. Maybe Apple pushed something to the Airport Express devices and gimped AirPlay 1. They would do something like that, the sneaky bastards.
Someone contacted me on FB in regards to anime-themed t-shirts. I replied that I did indeed have a few that I no longer wore, mostly because the shirts had become too small for me (which is a nice way of saying I've become too large for the shirts), and by the time I shrink down enough to be able to fit in them again, the ability to wear smaller anime shirts will be the furthest thing from my mind. He then asked if he could buy them from me. Sure, I guess? I picked out a few I was willing to part with, sent pictures of them, he picked out what he wanted, and next thing I know, there's $150 showing up in my Paypal, for a bunch of shirts I haven't worn in over 20 years (and probably never would again). And now, 9 of my old anime shirts have begun a journey that will ultimately take them to Singapore. I don't know what he intends to do with them, but I hope they're what he wanted. Is this some sort of scam? I don't know. At this point, I look at it this way: If things go haywire, the worst I'll be out of is a bunch of old worn-out anime shirts that I was likely going to otherwise donate because I can't fit in them, and the $16 to ship them. If it all pans out as legit? Cool, it'll be like the time I got $40 for driving someone less than half a mile from one side of a shopping mall to the other.
At the same train show, I also picked up an old Athearn diesel which doesn't appear to be much newer than the Rivarossi. It looked like it was stored for 20 years in a damp crawl space because a lot of the metal pieces were starting to rust, and the metal frame was bent in at least 3 places. However, parts for these are easy to come by and I already had many of those spare parts. And the fix for the bent frame involves a big bench vise and some gentle adjustment. I got it sorted out, though. Sometimes I find good deals, sometimes I just find basketcases.
Nozomi officially reached 300k miles! Then as a way of celebrating, her alternator started showing early signs of failure. The battery light would sometimes flash at idle, then it's fine for a few days, then it comes back, staying on at higher RPMs, until it stays on more often than not. I've seen that happen before in other cars and replacing the alternator is what fixes it. So that's what I did. Replacement involved disconnecting the battery (duh), removal of the serpentine belt, power steering pump, idler/tensioner, radiator overflow tank, which then required removal of part of the radiator support itself. Only then was I finally able to get the part out. If I was still living at the trailer, fixing it myself wouldn't have been an option and having it done would have easily cost closer to a grand, instead of the $100 for a used part off ebay.
On the plus side, I learned what likely causes that particular failure mode and what's involved in fixing it: The brush set mounted on the back of the part. When they're too worn down, they can't maintain contact and thus can't keep making voltage. A new brush set is $35. Too bad the original alternator also needs new bearings, which are a lot harder to replace, and replacing the whole alternator was the way to go here. Oh well.
For several years, I've been doing an extended fuel economy test on my cars. Nozomi is in 3rd place at 28MPG, Ai continues to do her thing in 2nd place at 32MPG, and Miharu is taking the lead with 34MPG. Nozomi's is lower because she's more about performance than economy. Miharu is higher, despite being over 500lbs more than Ai, with a bigger engine, and an automatic. The advances in fuel-management technology are a factor but so is how the gears are set up. Miharu has more gears (8!) and stays in the highest one possible to keep the RPMs as low as possible. An old trick but an effective one.
I've been trying to figure out why my AirPlay network stopped working the way I want it to. I still have workarounds, but I didn't need to use them until recently. Puzzling. Maybe Apple pushed something to the Airport Express devices and gimped AirPlay 1. They would do something like that, the sneaky bastards.
Someone contacted me on FB in regards to anime-themed t-shirts. I replied that I did indeed have a few that I no longer wore, mostly because the shirts had become too small for me (which is a nice way of saying I've become too large for the shirts), and by the time I shrink down enough to be able to fit in them again, the ability to wear smaller anime shirts will be the furthest thing from my mind. He then asked if he could buy them from me. Sure, I guess? I picked out a few I was willing to part with, sent pictures of them, he picked out what he wanted, and next thing I know, there's $150 showing up in my Paypal, for a bunch of shirts I haven't worn in over 20 years (and probably never would again). And now, 9 of my old anime shirts have begun a journey that will ultimately take them to Singapore. I don't know what he intends to do with them, but I hope they're what he wanted. Is this some sort of scam? I don't know. At this point, I look at it this way: If things go haywire, the worst I'll be out of is a bunch of old worn-out anime shirts that I was likely going to otherwise donate because I can't fit in them, and the $16 to ship them. If it all pans out as legit? Cool, it'll be like the time I got $40 for driving someone less than half a mile from one side of a shopping mall to the other.
no subject
Date: 2022-04-25 11:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-04-25 12:05 pm (UTC)